Geopolitical Monitor - Opinion

September 7th, 2010 (BBC News) - People have taken to the streets in France in the hundreds of thousands to protest austerity measures implemented in the wake of the Greek debt crisis.

The marches reflect popular disquiet over the government’s decision to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62- a move that is expected to save the government over 70 billion euros. The change in the retirement age was just one of many austerity measures enacted after the Greek government was besieged by fears of default. Governments all around Europe swiftly enacted laws meant to cut deficits and bolster confidence in bond markets and the stability of the euro as a hard currency.

Labor marches are not the only thing that Nicolas Sarkozy has to worry about. His popularity has already bottomed out to the point that he is looking to certain ‘mass appeal’ initiatives to salvage a chance for reelection in 2012. One such initiative was the ban on full-face Islamic veils, passed last July. A more recent one is the ongoing crackdown on illegal Roma camps and naturalized immigrants who attack policemen.

Over at Slate, Anne Applebaum argues that the hard turn towards austerity, and the popular unrest that results, are dividing Europe into North and South:

“The North contains the budget hawks: Germany, Poland, Estonia, Scandinavia, the Czechs, and the Slovaks. Britain's new government, with its austerity budget, aims to return to the North, following its recent experience of life in the South. France floats somewhere in between. Wealth, as such, isn't northern: Much of the South is very rich. But in the North, private wealth has grown more or less in tandem with the public sector. Private wealth and public squalor are more typical of the South.”

Tags:  Politics - Economy - Europe - West - France - Greek Debt Crisis - News - Global Financial Crisis